Alister Walker bt Andy Whipp
                11/9, 11/5, 11/5 (32m)

Ali opts for the English

Alister Walker recorded his fourth consecutive straight-games win in the Grand Prix final in an ideal appetizer for the Super Series Final itself. Andy competed well in the first, but was unable after that to mount a serious challenge to the world number 23.

Alister opted to take the wild card entry for the English Grand Prix in Sheffield, since that is a 16-man draw for which he would have to qualify, but he will probably just squeeze into the 32-man main draw of the Dunlop British Open as of right.

THe decision delighted Andy, who had earlier in the week described the opportunity to play in the British Open in front of his home crowd as 'awesome'.
 

"It was always going to be tough, he'd had two fairly easy wins and I'd had two hour-long five-setters.

"Ali plays at a really fast pace, and the pressure he puts on, it forces you to make errors. I should have at least taken the third though, from 9/3 up.

"It's been good tournament though, I've really enjoyed all the matches. Thanks to Paul for putting it on and I hope there can be some more like this in the future …"

"I was nervous coming into this event, having had a month off, so I was really pleased to get a win in the first match.

"Then yesterday I was way too relaxed as I'd never heard of Alan, but he played well.

"That put the pressure on to win today, and although I don't think I played that well, he was a bit off too so it was enough for me to get the win.

"I really want to win tomorrow, to get back here in October for the British Open, that would be awesome."

Joel Hinds bt Lewis Walters                              11/6, 11/9, 11/8 (30m)
Alister Walker  bt Jon Harford                          11/5, 11/2, 11/6 (25m)
Alan Clyne bt Andy Whipp                                11/9, 11/0, 9/11, 9/11, 13/11 (58m)
Nick Taylor bt Shaun Le Roux                          11/9, 11/4, 9/11, 10/12, 12/10 (61m)

1pm Joel Hinds bt Lewis Walters
       11/6, 11/9, 11/8 (30m)
2pm Alister Walker bt Jon Harford
        11/5, 11/2, 11/6 (25m)

Joel and Ali in Pole

Joel Hinds and Alister Walker moved into pole position in the Sportcity and Manchester groups as they completed straight-game wins in the first matches of the day.

Joel took on new professional Lewis Walters, a late replacement for the event. Three competitive games, but in the end Joel just had the edge in each as he moved to within one win from the final and those wildcard places.

Walker, the event favourite, came through comfortably enough against Jon Harford, who, nursing a minor 'niggle', couldn't repeat the form he showed in yesterday's win, falling behind quickly in each game, and Ali was in no mood to let him back in ...

Alan Clyne bt Andy Whipp
        11/9, 11/0, 9/11, 9/11, 13/11 (58m)  

Longer than we thought ...

When you're two-nil up, having won the second 11/0 with your opponent looking out of sorts, you're entitled to start looking ahead to the next round.

Not that that's what Alan Clyne did, for sure, but nevertheless from that position he didn't expect to have to play another three hard games to secure the win.

The Scot got the better of a tight first, then raced away with the second as local favourite Andy Whipp tinned to often for his own good.

But he was back on song immediately from the start of the third, good tight squash again and it was as if that second had never happened.

The next two and a half games had Andy doing marginally more attacking and Alan doing a touch more running, but they were close, very close all the way.

Andy edged ahead at 9/6 in the fifth and earned two match balls. Alan refused to give in though, and forced errors from Andy after long, long rallies.

Finally, on his second match ball, Alan gratefully accepted a final tin from Andy to open  the sportcity group right up.

Joel can take top spot if he wins his third, but it could easily turn out to be a three-way tie ...

"I turned professional two weeks ago after finishing college. So far I've done a week's training, had flu, started playing last week then found out yesterday I was in this!

"Being professional means you have to take it more seriously on court, even in training where you know what you have to work on.

"I'm hoping for a local spot in the English Grand Prix or British Open qualifying, and I'm playing in a Super Satellite in Barcelona and then in Tenerife.

"I'm ranked 250 now, so I'd like to be inside the top 150 by the end of the season."



"I still find it very different on the glass court, but I'm pleased to have won my two games. There's no pressure against Whippy tomorrow, I'm the underdog so I'll just have a go …"

"I thought it was over, but it became very tough!

"I got a good half-hour hit on the court this morning and felt much more comfortable than yesterday.

"The first was close, but I thought that if I could get a good start in the second I could get on top. So I came out fast and that's how it went, be he came back strongly from the third.

"I got a little bit defensive towards the end, and got a couple of lucky shots, but for the first four games I was happy with how I was playing, and luckily I got through."

Nick Taylor bt Shaun Le Roux
         11/9, 11/4, 9/11, 10/12, 12/10 (61m)

Nick outlasts Le Roux

Yesterday it was one win one loss for the Mancunian pair of Nick Taylor and Andy Whipp, and so it was today, but the roles were reversed as the Sportcity head coach staved off a spirited fightback from Shaun Le Roux to keep himself in with a chance in the Mancheter group.

Looking sharp and in control from the start, Nick eased into a 2-0 lead, leaving an unhappy Shaun on court practicing after the second.

And it seemed to work. Shaun went 10/4 up in the third, but Nick worked his way back to 10/9 before a careless tin ended the tension as Shaun pulled one back.

He pulled another one back too, but in the fifth Nick took control again, reaching 10/6. He spurned four match-balls, then won the next two points to make it one-each in the oldies v youngsters matches, just as it finished yesterday.

After two 3/2 defeats Shaun cannot qualify, and has to beat Alister tomorrow to put Nick and Jon in with a chance ... Nick's probably giving him some tips right now ...
 

"You'd think I'd know better by now. I felt I controlled the match all the way through, even when I was down in the third, I just played one silly shot.

"Then it got into a bit of a pig fight, I got my tactics wrong, but at least I stayed positive which you have to do on this court.

"Shaun played very well in patches, especially in the last two games. The plan was to break him down, but I got the tactics wrong, playing too short.

"Still, I'm glad to get through that one and I'll freshen up and give it another go tomorrow."

   Joel Hinds bt Alan Clyne                          8/11, 11/5, 11/6, 11/9 (53m)
   Jon Harford bt Shaun Le Roux                 11/8, 8/11, 11/7, 4/11, 11/7 (62m)
   Andy Whipp bt Lewis Walters                   11/6, 11/9, 13/11 (30m)
   Alister Walker bt Nick Taylor                   11/3, 11/6, 12/10 (36m)

 Joel Hinds bt Alan Clyne   
     8/11, 11/5, 11/6, 11/9 (53m)

First blood to Joel

The first match of the event(s) saw England junior International Joel Hinds, fresh from two Harrow Challenger tournament wins as he starts his PSA career, take on Scottish number two Alan Clyne.

Both are unused to playing on the glass court, which meant that ventures to the front were fairly rare as they generally rallied it, trying out to get the feel for the conditions

It was the Scot who drew first blood, but Joel drew away from the mid-point of the second and third games to take the lead.

The fourth was point for point, with plentiful long rallies, until at 8/7 Joel scored with a mishit to create a two-point gap for the first time. He held onto that lead, finishing off with another slight mishit to take the lead in the Sportcity group.

"I don't play on a glass court, ever! It's so different, it's really hard to volley. I was adapting a little towards the end, but I definitely need a practice on there tomorrow.

"I played ok, I was but I was glad o get a couple of 'dirty' shots at the end of the last game.

"I'm pleased with my start in the PSA – played two, won two – they were only small events but still looks good!"

Jon Harford bt Shaun Le Roux
          11/8, 8/11, 11/7, 4/11, 11/7 (62m)

Jon wins the odd ones

The second match of the day was a see-saw battle between to of England's promising younger players. Once one player got ahead in each game the other was unable to close the gap, and five entertaining games were traded, with Jon Harford taking the odd numbers and claiming the win.

"I've had a hard summer's training but not played many matches, so this tournament, with three hard games guaranteed, is a great starter for the season.

"It was a tough match. I got ahead but lost it a little in the fourth so held back to make a big effort in the fifth.

"Neither of us are too used to the glass court, but it rewards a tight shot so well making it really difficult to get back, and that's probably what won it for me in the end.

"I'd really love to get the wildcard for the Birmingham event. I went to university there and the court will be in the Great Hall where I took all my exams - playing in there would be such a great feeling ..."

Andy Whipp bt Lewis Walters
            11/6, 11/9, 13/11 (30m)
Alister Walker bt Nick Taylor 
            11/3, 11/6, 12/10 (36m)

One for experience, one for youth ...

The final two matches in the British Grand Prix pitched two youngsters against tow experienced Manchester favourites.

Andy Whipp, newly-married, had too much guile for Lewis Walters, who had stepped in at the last minute after Tom Pashley pulled out with a shoulder problem.

 In the other match youth prevailed as top seed Alister Walker took the first two games against Nick Taylor fairly comfortably before seeing off a spirited fightback in the third which saw Nick get a game ball at 10/9.

"For some reason I felt really nervous before that match, worse than I've been since I started playing at ten! I'm just glad to get through really.

"I've been in a few British Open qualifyings but never in the main draw, to get through to that would be fantastic ..."

"He really pushed in the third and I came off it a bit, gave away a few cheap points. But for someone not playing full time he's playing really well, taking it in short extremely well.

"This event is good for getting some good matches on the glass court, especially for those of us who don't play on it that much. And getting one of the wildcard spots at the end of it would be great …"



"I was just a bit off the pace, half a yard too slow. But I played some good squash, which is what's important to me, especially against someone ten years younger than you."